Several hundred thousand crude oil contracts trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on a typical day. Look closely at the details of the session’s activity and you’ll see prices like $68.08, the closing price for October crude on Sept. 1. You’ll probably notice that December 2010 crude settled… Read More
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Gold and platinum usually move in tandem, with platinum typically valued about twice as much as gold. Sometimes this relationship gets off kilter for a short while, but it usually corrects itself quickly. Gold and platinum prices have been disconnected since the end of 2008. Read More
When people think about the phone company, most naturally think about AT&T (NYSE: T), the most storied company in telecom. Though A&T has its fans — particularly dividend payers these days, with its 6.3% yield — it can… Read More
Investors hooked on green energy, government spending, and developing economies are looking in the right place. They just aren’t looking at the right stock. When the global economy slammed on the breaks, General Cable (NYSE: BGC) took it on the chin. It slid… Read More
When the financial meltdown began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the talking heads on financial news channels pronounced the death of “buy-and-hold” investing. It had become unfashionable. No one was willing to defend the idea of buying a stock and holding on to it for years. I don’t know… Read More
The odds are good that you’ve never met either Jonathan Seiffer or Jonathan Sokoloff. They’re worth knowing, or at least being aware of. These men may be the only people that can save a $4 billion company. Both have serious Wall Street resumes and deep experience with some of the… Read More
China has had an impressive run. Its GDP has grown at double-digit rates while holders of Chinese stocks have earned triple-digit returns. While everyone else is talking about China, savvy investors should be asking where the next big growth story is. The investment company… Read More
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied more than 2,500 points, climbing from a March low near 6,500 to retake the 9,000 level. That’s a +40% advance in less time than it takes to grow a tomato. So is the market set to roar past 10,000? Or is it about… Read More
Wall Street just doesn’t understand Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE). No surprise there: There’s a Rolls-Royce dealer a few minutes from the stock exchange, but the nearest John Deere dealer is more than 50 miles away, and it mostly sells lawn tractors. The massive heavy-duty agricultural equipment, the large tractors… Read More
It’s no wonder Warren Buffett loves railroads so much — they’re a simple, easy to understand business. In fact, his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) has a stake in three of them. This is exactly what Buffett was talking about when he said… Read More